Heart Collecting
by Tsuki Dream
Summary: After a turn for the worse, Kagome is forced to flee home without completing the jewel. With her destiny sealed in time that is quickly running out, only a certain dectective turned youkai will be able to help her... the only question is will she let him?
1. Chapter 1

Okay so for those of you who are fans of my other three stories... Whispers of a Broken Soul, Sacrifice, and It's Going to be a long night....fyi I am writing the chapters in between butt loads of school work ( I am not really enjoying college at the moment) and I am also having a bit of a writers block for them as I am in desperate need on how to get the stories to get where I want them to go (did that even make sense?? oh well... lol) but anyways I am NOT neglecting y'all, but I am a bit stuck and nor have i forgotten about them. As soon as I get an Idea for it I will UPDATE!!!! So yea, that's where those are standing for now, but in the meantime sit back, relax, eat some popcorn and enjoy my little muse while I gather idea's for my other stories...I know i know why bother to start ANOTHER fanfic? Well this pair is (somewhat) popular and I have taken a liking to it as of late...and I REALLY can't just leave you all hanging wondering if I died or something...so enjoy this...uh...intermission! lol Um yea...Just a note Kagome is 17 and is almost 18, and I am making Yusuke 19...lol

~Tsuki Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inu-yasha or any and all of it's characters! It would all have been a collassal waste of time and money if it had been mine...for I surely would have ruined them both... but luckily the world is full of geniuses who actually plan the plotline in extensive detail! Unlike me... Anyways! on with the story!

Summary: After a terrible turn for the worse, Kagome is forced to flee home without the completed jewel. With her life stolen from her and her destiny sealed in time that is frighteningly quickly running out, only a certain dectective turned youkai will be able to help her. The only question is...after everything she has loved has been ripped from her, will she let him get close enough to help her?

Heart Collecting

Chapter one:

It was not suppossed to be like this! None of it should have happened this way! How come fate was so cruel to her!? Why couldn't the girl have a nice break once in a while? How could things have gotten this way so quickly after all the effort she had put in for the last two and a half years?

She was not direly injured as her friends where. Nor was she dead like some of them. Tears came to her eyes renewed, and she cholked on a sob as the tears threatened to spill over. Miroku was covering for Inu-Yasha and Kagome, as the hanyou sped to the well with a shocked Kagome. Inu-Yasha himself was gravely injured and Sango...dear sango, had died in order to save her little brothers life. Kagome was going to miss her adoptive older sister. She started to cry as Naraku's roar of anger and laughing malice filled the whole realm, as he realized that the nearly complete jewel was no longer in his possession. He laughed as Kagome and Inu-Yasha realized that Miroku was undoubtedly dead. They both felt the ominous and tainted aura coming for them. Inu-Yasha willed himself to go faster.

"We're almost there Kagome... hold on!" He whispered. She looked up to see the well rushing into view.

"Inu-yasha..." She looked up at his grave face as more tears threatened to spill.

"Kagome we don't have the full jewel, but if you take Naraku's nearly completed jewel to the future, then he nor anyone else will be able to get their dirty hands on it. Purify this part of it, and keep it safe Kagome. Seal the well and don't ever come back, for your own safety. Naraku can't reach you in the future."

With that he pulled her into a bone crushing hug which only lasted a few seconds, and then he lowered her into the well and let her go. At the last minute she looked up at the sound os his scream of pain, and watched in horror as his now lifeless body was draped over the well.

The last thing she saw was her former love's lifeless eyes staring hauntingly into hers before a blue light engulfed her vision.

"NO! Inu-Yasha!!!" She felt her heart breack into a million shards, just like how the shikon no tama had been broken

And then with a blinding flash she was at the bottom of the well in her own time.

"kagome? What are you doing back so early? You just left this morning didn't you?" Souta's voice rang out through the darkness and down the dark well to his sister.

But even as the day started to fall into night and the Higurashi's pulled their family member out of the well in a time consuming task, the young time travelling miko gave no response or acknowledged their presences.

As soon as she was pulled from the well, her legs gave out and she was staring lifelessly at the ground in front of her. Alarmed cries rang throughout her family members over her well being, but she gave no movement to calm their wories.

For once in the time travelling girls life, time itself had stopped the moment she had sen those lifeles eyes.

She stared with lifeless eyes into her mothers frantic and worried face, and only a single grief filled tear slid down her cheek to give away to her mother what had happened. Her mother's eyes widened and then she started to cradle her daughters seemingly lifeless body.

"Oh my baby! my poor poor baby! why did this have to happen to you!?" Her mother tears fell onto Kagome's face, crying for her daughter that could not.


	2. Chapter 2

Yep well...For those of you who nlike sacrifice, chapter two is up...finally. And I want to update the other stories before I continue that as well...anywho! Enjoy this next chapter!! Umm and I haven't mentioned it yet, but just for humor's sake there is some Hiei/Botan stuff in here too... I just figured he cannot stand humans and she technically isn't human so...anyways!

Disclaimer: I do not own either anime or it's characters.

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Heart Collecting

Chapter Two

He was, for once, amused by the two idiots. He watched as Yusuke used his new found demonic speed to elude Kuwabara, much to the big oaf's heated displeasure.

"Urameshi! Stop that and fight me like a man!" he threw another fist into what would have been yusuke's face...had he not disappeared the moment it would have made contact. Kuwabara heard the evil chuckle behind him, but had felt the energy signal behind him in enough time to turn and block the next attack. which at this point was all he could really do. Hiei also noted with an almost sadistic pleasure, that Yusuke was toying with him.

'Yusuke is going to be more fun to fight with now...' Hiei thought with sarcastic pleasure.

"Hiei are they going to stop anytime soon? Koenma has just called you all in..." Hiei looked down at the blue haired oar flying grim reaper frowned in the two boys' direction. Although she was exceptionally impressed with how well Yusuke had just taken the break up with Keiko. The poor human girl told Yusuke that she didn't want to be married to a man who would never age, and who she could never grow old and die with.

"They will not stop for a while unless you want to stop them?" Hiei smirked and raised a brow at the female he secretly loved to provoke. Said female huffed in annoyance and frowned at him in return, and then stuck her tongue out at him. She then turned to the red head beside her.

"Kurama could you...?" the fox looked over to her and nodded with a sigh. He was also curious as to the full extent of Yusuke's new powers, for if anyone had asked Kurama would surely have admitted that Yusuke was now by far the strongest out of all of them.

-You and me both kid, but we really should stop them now...We don't want to keep the toddler waiting...- Youko reminded Kurama.

Kurama gracefully knelt on the ground and as soon as he had lightly touched the dirt with his fingertips, thick restraining vines shot around Yusuke's body and pulled him away from the extremely relieved Kuwabara, who once realizing that he was no longer being attacked collapsed onto the ground and laid there with a grateful sigh and tried to catch his breath.

"Hey! What gives! I haven't even broken a sweat!? Kurama!" Kurama released the detective while calmly explaining what was going on.

"Koenma wishes to see , are you coming as well?" Kurama looked at the pitiful figure of the boy still laying on the ground, completely out of energy. His sister came out of the house and mocked him for being too slow.

"I'll catch up with ya later..." he mumbled, right before he passed out and started snoring. The others, with the exception of Hiei, laughed and proceeded through the portal that Botan had opened up. They all filed through and Botan could have sworn she felt something brush against her butt, but when she turned to look there was nothing there. She quickly looked in front of her towards the fire apparition, who was looking back at her smirking. She in turn narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

'pervert...' she glared at him knowing full well that he could hear her. He simply smirked and looked away. She gave a slightly dejected sigh of annoyance as they walked into Koenma's office.

"Yo, toddler! Whatcha got for us today!"

"Yusuke! Show some respect!Where's Kuwabara?" Koenma looked around having noticed the obnoxious orange haired lug was missing.

"Having a nap!" Yusuke laughed.

"Anyways, there is a new case for you..."

"Alright! Who do I get to use my new youkai powers against!? Let's kick some ass!" After the transformation Yusuke had calmed down considerably, as well as closed himself off a little bit, but right now he was still feeling the adrenaline high of having messed with Kuwabara's mind, and having technically won against his friend. Koenma noticed this and eyed him suspiciously, quickly piecing together what had happened, with a confirming thought from Hiei.

"Yusuke this new case is not about a demon for you to destroy." Koenma said sternly. Everyone looked at him in surprise, except for Botan who looked sadly at the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Yusuke had instantly noticed the grave atmosphere to the room and had quickly converted to his new reserved self.

"We have recently detected an extremely large and terrifyingly tainted aura flare up a few days ago. I went to go send Botan to check it, out but as soon as she reached the location it was so faint that she could not pin point where the aura came from. thinking that it had disappeared, and had no evil intentions she came back.

"So what do you want us to do about it? Track down the aura, if it is even still there, and find out who caused it?" Koenma shook his head sadly.

"Not who, but what. This is no human aura, and just yesterday the aura flared up dangerously again, and it was so bad that a lot of the demons in the makai are restless and power hungry for whatever this aura is emanating off of. I want you to find this object and bring it to me, unless it is dangerous in which case I would prefer you destroy it."

"Alright...so where is this aura originating from?"

"This time it was in public close to your school, but a few days ago it was at a shrine."

"A shrine? Is it possible that it was purified in some way?" Kurama spoke up. Koenma considered this for a moment and then sighed and shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. The only way that would be possible is if there was still a miko with true powers...but I am afraid they are extinct now. The only other slight possibility would be if there was a lingering holy energy around one of the shrines, but I am afraid this particular shrine does not have such a power... Well Botan will send you to the Higurashi shrine, and see what you can dig up." With that the spirit detectives where dismissed and walked through a portal, compliments of Botan.

She was silent as she watched her boss for a moment.

"Koenma-sir?" Koenma looked up.

"Yes Botan?"

"I have a bad feeling about all of this...I feel like there is something we are missing..."

"As do I Botan, as do I..."

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Yep it is all starting to come together! So you shall see what happens when they finally meet up with Kagome. Oh, and in answer to your questions the reason the jewel is still tainted even though Kagome has it, is because she is mentally unstable right now, so she isn't focusing on purifying the jewel. So whenever she puts it down the tainted aura that Naraku inflicted on the jewel will flare up, and when she picks it up again it seemingly dissapears so in short, she needs to be touching it at all times in order to hide it. This will be a key sign in later chapters to inform everyone if she is getting better or not.

reviews are loved like chocolate!

~Tsuki Dream


	3. Chapter 3

Alright so it is finals weeks for this week and next week for me…( sucks I know) and then I might be working full time, but before then I will try to update as often as possible and when I have a fixed schedule (fixed as in I have a job) then I will update freely!!! But until then …just don't expect too much. Lol

Thank you to all of my reviewers! Here are my replies to y'all! Lol

merlyn1382: Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

Rhianna224: Thank you, I thought so too… lol

Snow Ahriman: I agree whole heartedly. I kept reading all of these stories about how Kagome is being a big baby and cries all the way home from a cheating Inu-yasha…it definitely starts to get old…lol just like you will notice in my other Inu-Yasha fic (that I need to update as well) She gets angry and Sesshy forces her to become his ally at her display…lol yep I try to be original…and in answer to your other request…well I DID label it as a Yusuke and Kagome romance fic, which means that they will get together EVENTUALLY…just not right away…she is like an emotionless void at this point… THANKS FOR THE CHOCOLATE!! lol

foxgodess07: I am glad you think this is interesting! I try to be original! Thank you!!

I will admit the randomness was my own review…heh heh lol I just wanted to favorite the link to all of my review pages… lol but it IS good…right?? Lol

THANK YOU ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!!!Let this show go on!

**disclaimer:** (Yusuke: it's let the show continue moron… and you don't own the show anyways…)

TD: **sigh…**

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The group of Spirit Detectives walked through the portal and immediately noticed the many large stone steps that were popular to shrines. Yusuke groaned.

"Awww man… there just HAS to be twelve dozen steps!!"

"What do you care? We are all demon. We can easily by-pass the steps."

"Yea that's right! Hey where's Kuwabara? He's probably still asleep…that dolt." Yusuke laughed, once again in high spirits.

Kurama simply shrugged that he did not know. And the three demons flash jumped up to the top of the steps, using their demonic speed.

Once they got to the top they noticed a very peaceful looking shrine. Hiei's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Being the only psychic one of the group meant that he naturally had more sensitive senses. He looked over at Kurama, who was the only one that had noticed his odd behavior, and quickly nodded and then disappeared to find the source of his discomfort.

Yusuke didn't notice this at all, nor did he care. He was too preoccupied staring at a well house, which was giving him extremely creepy vibes.

"You know Kurama, even though this place looks alive and peaceful, it sure does have a negative atmosphere…"

"I agree. That is very strange for a shrine. I wonder if something bad happened here recently?"

-No this isn't a recently created evil aura. It is a centuries old one. The question is…how old?- Youko suggested to Kurama, who had to agree that it made sense. But how was a centuries old aura only just starting to flare up? If the aura around this place was even the source of the power that Koenma had even felt.

"Kurama." Yusuke spoke low, and the fox snapped to attention as a lady walked out of the house and headed towards them.

"Hello. I am Higurashi-san, the owner of this shrine. May I help you with anything?" Higurashi-san smiled warmly and cheerfully towards the two teenage looking boys in welcoming. She was very friendly and answered Kurama's questions as to how long she had owned the shrine for, and if she lived there. She was explaining that her family lived there.

"My late husband's father lives with us. My son is in elementary school-"

"Get away from those two demons!" The woman whirled around startled by what the older man running towards her had said.

"They are demons? How can you tell?" The woman backed away from the two teens who frowned in confusion at her sudden change in demeanor.

"I may not have the same abilities of the priests in the olden days, but I do have a sixth sense that works just fine!" The old man glared at the two boys.

"I am afraid I must ask you to leave immediately." The woman sounded apologetic, but her face was anything but that. She gave the boys a hard reprimanding look that even made Youko flatten his ears in guilt.

"They need to leave before _she _gets here! All the progress we have made with her will be lost if she feels their aura's here!" The old man harshly bit out. The woman nodded.

"You must get off this property at once." She stared them down until Kurama carefully put a hand on Yusuke's arm and the two quickly turned and left the cold atmosphere. They slowly walked down the shrine steps, aware of the old man's glare slicing into them from behind as they walked. Just as they neared the bottom of the steps, they watched as a female around their age rounded the corner. She paused staring at the steps blankly. She did not look at them, nor did she move. The two boys stopped and stared at the ebony haired girl's form. Her head was lowered so that they could not see her face. She did not move as they continued to stand there and watch the girl.

"I told you to get out of here!!" The elderly man's voice screeched with anger, and the two boys started forwards again pretending not to notice the girl, but watching her out of the corner of their eyes at the same time.

As soon as they reached the bottom and silently passed the girl, only then did she move and started a slow trek up the steps. The boys stared after her for a second and then quickly turned the corner and then stopped. Hiei joined them then, having witnessed the entire encounter.

"Hiei, there is something strange about that girl. Can you tell us what it is?" Kurama enquired.

"No." the fire apparition responded with an edge to his voice.

"No?" Yusuke sounded surprised.

"The only thing I can tell you about that girl, is that she has no aura."

"But a human without an aura would mean that she is dead."

"She did seem kind of lifeless." Yusuke said half joking.

"This is starting to turn into a strange mission indeed. Let's go report back to Koenma."

And with that the three detectives left, with their senses on high alert.

"Yusuke, Youko believes that the aura around the shrine is not the source of Koenma's concern." Kurama offered seriously to the new demon. Said demon turned his head and long black silky hair towards the fox.

"You serious? What is that aura from then? There is no way that those humans could produce a horrible aura like that. Only a demon could create something like that. Hiei are they being stalked by a demon?" Yusuke was rarely serious, and this was one of those moments.

"There is no demonic youki anywhere near the place. Nor is there any sign that there ever was." Hiei replied monotonously without looking at his team mate. Yusuke frowned, truly perplexed.

"I don't like this. None of it adds up at all. What is the evil power that plagued that place yesterday, and why can't it be sensed anywhere now?" He growled. He was thinking about this too much and it was making his head hurt. But the truth was that none of it DID make any sense.

"We are missing something very vital…" Kurama spoke slowly, looking at the sky in thought as the three walked down the street. "Why don't we try to ponder it from the beginning?" He suggested helpfully. Yusuke and Hiei both stopped and looked at him. He was right, as usual. They were in a small park. Hiei leaned up against a pole and Yusuke sat on a bench, Kurama remained standing.

"What all happened when we got there?" Yusuke looked to Kurama, positive that the fox would have caught anything he had missed himself. Kurama nodded.

"We got there and Hiei went to investigate something. You were staring at the well house and then Higurashi-san came out and talked with us."

"Yea she was really nice, until that old man came out yelling at us." Yusuke frowned in displeasure.

"As soon as she heard that we were demons she became extremely guarded." Kurama frowned as well.

"Do you blame her? Whenever someone hears the word demon they start running and screaming…which she didn't do. Hiei did you hear what she was thinking?" Yusuke asked the silent observer, who only shook his head.

"I was not in the area. I was searching out that girl without the aura." He replied non helpfully.

"So if she knew that we were demons and she wasn't afraid of us, then that only leaves us with…what?" Yusuke was desperately trying to find some sort of connection between all of these confusing lines. He looked to Kurama, who was speaking with Youko as his eyes flashed between green and gold. Then his green eyes focused on the waiting Yusuke, who was leaning his elbows on his knees and had his hands clasped together calmly.

"Youko believes that she was acting defensively as a mother fox would for her cubs. It might have something to do with the girl the grandfather mentioned. They only said 'she'. That doesn't exactly explain anything to us though."

"Or tell us who 'she' is. What does that girl with no aura have to do with this either? Do you think she is an old restless soul that inhabited that girl's body?"

"Nothing of the sort has been documented or reported on." The three demons turned to see Koenma's head floating behind them, listening intently to their conversation. Yusuke stood up.

"She has no aura though…what does that mean then?" Yusuke asked Koenma.

"If she is indeed an old soul with something left to do, then you could tell from the look in her eyes. If they have no pupils and are unfocused then it would indeed be an old soul. An old soul also has the ability to create a large ominous aura, which would stay wherever she has travelled to.

"There was no aura following her when we passed her. We also couldn't see her eyes. Is it possible for an old soul to cover up their aura?" Kurama asked. Koenma's head looked thoughtful for a moment and then he shook his head sadly.

"No, there is not. It would be helpful for you to determine if this girl has pupils or not. If it is an old soul, then that could most likely be part of the cause for this and it would dramatically reduce the work I'll have to do. If it is not, then I am afraid that none of it would make sense." Koenma looked behind him and spoke something to someone and then turned back to the group. "Kuwabara has been informed of the situation and overheard our conversation. He is headed for you right now." As soon as the prince finished speaking Kuwabara stepped out of a portal and up to the group.

"Keep digging for information, and I will inform you of any reappearances of the tainted aura." With that said Koenma's floating head disappeared. As soon as he finished speaking Yusuke smacked his head from a sudden realization. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"anything we did find out had nothing to do with a _tainted_ aura!" He groaned. Everyone looked surprised but agreed.

"So in the end we are left with more questions instead of answers…" Kuwabara spoke softly.

"We might as well head home…it's late and I doubt that we will uncover anything useful tonight." Kurama replied.

So the four detectives split up to head home. And one particular detective was fairly upset with the lack of answers they had received from their scouting.

Yusuke was fairly agitated at the lack of answers for the rest of the night.

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Well there is the third chapter! I tried to make it longer and a bit more involved with the plot of the story… I hope you liked it!

Reviewers are loved like chocolate!

~Tsuki Dream


	4. Chapter 4

So...I am REALLY sorry for the long wait... alot of stuff has been going on and stress does not ever help...lol but I am back, I am done college, I am looking for a job, but until then. I will do my VERY BEST to update for you all quicker!

Thanks for being loyal and waiting so patiently for me! ( Although if any of you are like me, maybe not so patiently...lol heh heh heh...)

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Disclaim: I don't own any of the characters or the prospective anime that they come from...although I would be rich if I did...lol

Chapter Three

Kagome was surrounded by a beautiful whitelight with pink hues. The light curled around her form and seemed to be wrapping her in a warm cu-coon of comfort. Kagome felt as though her heart was carefully materializing in her chest. She knew that soon her heart would be completed and that she would be able to continue to live. Unseen, a voice gently caressed her cheek and the young priestess looked up in wonder.

~I will watch over you Kagome...Your need time to heal. So I have sealed the well for you.~

"Midoriko?"

~yes child.~

"What are you doing here? I don't understand. Where are we?"

~I am here to comfort you, my child, nothing else matters other than the need for you to be complete within your heart.~

"Are you...trying to heal my heart?"

~No, Kagome...I cannot heal your heart. The mending that needs to be done can only be completed within yourself. I am simply showing you what love feels like. This feeling is the one that can heal you, so that you may in turn succeed in accomplishing the destiny that is patiently awaiting you."

"Why can't you heal me? Wouldn't it be easier?"

~It would.~

"But you're not going to."

~No. There has never been a destiny that has not come without trials.~

"So why are you showing me the feeling that I will have when I know I am healed?"

~Because this feeling is the key to unlocking your destiny. There are changes occurring inside you right now, among them your inability to purify the jewel. I cannot show you the path you must take or the door that will take you through it, but I can give you the key to unlock that door, and you must use this key to discover the correct door.~

"Why does it have to be so complicated?" Kagome spoke more to herself than to the shimmering aura around her.

~There are many things that I cannot reveal to you at this time, my brave child, but seek solace in knowing that when they are revealed to you, you will know the truth of your destiny. You will then be freed from these torturous pains you are inflicting upon yourself. Use this key I have given you for everything that you are uncertain of. Good luck.~

With that the glow started to disappear and the warm completed feeling rapidly left Kagome's heart, and her shattered and cold broken heart replaced the one she had just felt. She bolted in bed into a sitting position and was sweating and panting heavily at the strange and unwanted feeling that had overcome her blissful peace. Tears gathered in her eyes as she desperately willed the feeling to come back, begging for it even.

But like the tears that did not fall, the feeling never came.

In a different side of town, on top of a large building, a highly agitated demon was resting and glaring balefully at the innocently shinning stars. Yusuke was normally one to love his sleep, even though as a full demon it was not required, but it was a human habit that he was rather fond of. Tonight however he could not sleep. He continued to replay the entire days events in his head, entirely too frustrated to sleep.

"What the hell is wrong with me...I've never been able to not sleep before. But this case is so aggravating...nothing makes sense, and usually we would have at least one clue by now! But we only have more answers!" His glare at the stars intensified and a scowl erupted on to his normally appealing roguish features.

"Can I sit with you?" Yusuke looked up in surprise as a golden eyed Kurama appeared beside him.

"Sure Kurama...what's up?"

"You were not at your dwelling...there is something that troubles you." Youko spoke through Kurama knowingly at his friend. Yusuke looked at him in surprise and then looked back at the ever unhelpful stars.

"I am just frustrated with how things turned out today. I just wished we had a lead that could help us figure out what is causing all the demons in makai to act so uncontrollably. It's only a matter of time before they grow too wild and set loose on the humans." Yusuke let out a heavy sigh of helplessness, that was mixed with a slight growl of frustration. Youko smiled at his friends behaviour then followed his example of staring at the stars.

"In my experience, when faced with a difficult path to take, I listen to my instincts. All demons have incredible instincts and if you listen to them they can get you out of many difficult situations...or in this case lead you to the right conclusion. Have you tried listening to those?" Youko's golden eyes swiveled back to the strong, but new, demon beside him. After Yusuke's transformation, Youko and Kurama had decided to take it upon themselves to mentor Yusuke in the abilities of demons and their instincts.

"My instincts keep telling me that there is something about that girl we saw earlier...but I can't tell what it is...It is just more frustrating..."

"I see. My instincts have told me that as well."

"So do we check her out then? See what we can dig up?"

"That is the only possible solution at this time seeing as how we have no other leads."

"So what if it is a dead end?"

"Then we follow our instincts until they lead to where we need to be."

"Yea you're right...Thanks Kurama."

"You are welcome."

Having only about an hour till sunrise both demons stayed there lost in their own ponderings, patiently awaiting what the new day would bring.

Kagome hadn't gotten much sleep after her dream with midoriko, and she was somewhat apprehensive afterwards. Waiting for the wonderful feeling to come back, but saddened knowing that it would not come, but she waited nonetheless.

Kagome slowly got ready for the day, and then ventured her way downstairs. She walked into the kitchen. She had been sleeping more lately and it was alarming her family with how hard it was to wake her up. Kagome's mother was pretty certain that it had to do with depression, and today held no hope for waking her up, not after all their effort at bringing her back had been wasted. It was four in the morning and Kagome's mother was the only one awake. Or so she thought.

As Kagome walked in, her mother looked up in shock and nearly choked on her tea. She shakily put down her tea cup and rushed to her daughter.

"Kagome? What are you doing up so early?" after the last few months they had managed to finally get Kagome to speak, if only in short and blunt sentences that where no more than five words long. Mrs. Higurashi's face fell with despair as she realized her daughter would not speak. She waved it aside in the excuse that her daughter was obviously grieving. That's when it dawned on her mother. Kagome's eyes had tears in them. The rest of her body gave no insight to any reference of emotion, but that single alone fact that Kagome, as void of emotion as she was, had tears in her eyes, was possibly the greatest gift that her mother could have received. It was her birthday today, and everyone had been afraid that the loss of their progress with Kagome would ruin her birthday.

As Kagome's mother got Kagome something to eat and watched as she actually fed herself, if only a little bit, was overjoyed and couldn't have asked for a greater gift. She handed Kagome her lunch and straightened her daughters skirt of her new school uniform. She pulled her daughter in for a hug and pressed Kagome's face to her cheek and squeezed her daughters tears out and wiped them onto her own cheek.

"Everything will turn out alright. You'll see." She whispered with such a fiercely loyal love that a small flicker of recognition passed through Kagome's eyes before they became emotionless once more.

"Have a good day at school sweetheart. i will be waiting here for you when you get back." Wordlessly Kagome stared at her in what her mother pretended was a sign of goodbye in return, and then she turned and walked down the shrine steps. Kagome's mother followed her until the top of the stairs, where she watched as tears of hope fell down her cheeks.

"Why are you out here? Where has Kagome gone?" Grandpa walked quickly towards his daughter in law. Mistaking her tears as ones of pain and sadness he became alarmed until she whispered quietly with a huge smile on her face.

"There is still hope for her! she is not lost to us yet! We were afraid that she would be lost, but she had tears in her eyes...and she got up on her own...she is beginning to feel again!" Her grandfather was stunned into silence and stared after his granddaughter in hopeful awe.

"There is still hope for her..." They both whispered in reverence. They were completely unaware of the fire apparition that had watched the entire exchange between the two females, and then the two adults. He then disappeared to follow the girl as she headed away to school.

Something had happened to the girl, he was sure. Something...unpleasant.

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So there you are, hopefully I didn't confuse you all with all of my descriptive words...lol Yea I am co writing a novel and my friend told me to stop using so many "ly" verbs...lol so I just had to get that out of my system...lol but anyways let me know what you thought! There will be more adventure in the next chapterI promise! lol :)

~TD


	5. Chapter 5

Heart Collecting

Chapter Four

A note from the author: Hello to all my readers! Thank you SO much for your reviews and patience as my life was one major thing after another! I am now finished college and I have unpacked (mostly) all my boxes from the move! All the important boxes have been unpacked anyways… So without further ado… the next chapter!

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Kagome walked as if in a daze on her way to school. She was very aware of a demonic presence somewhere behind her, but due to her lack of feeling and basically everything, she was a tad bit out of touch with her miko powers and her aura was completely gone at the moment. Which she didn't even think possible, but there it was.

The only thing that kept kagome from turning to confront the demon was the fact that what little miko powers she still had control over, were being used to protect the aura of the jewel. The jewel must be kept safe at all costs.

She continued her way to school in careful silence and emotional detachment from absolutely everything except for the small barely pulsating swirling pink and purple jewel hanging from her neck. It was the one thing that would be able to help her feel again, she was certain, and she would do whatever it takes to make sure that she can keep it safe. After all…it was her one and only lifeline keeping her attached to this world of emotion and complication.

-(O)-

Yusuke was able to get a couple hours of sleep eventually that morning. But as soon as he closed his eyes he had the strangest dream. His dream was more of a nightmare from the day Keiko had dumped him because of what he was. She had never said it, and always denied it, but he knew that she felt he was too different. He didn't judge her or blame her, after all…who could love a demon to the point of being hurt and facing heartbreak for the rest of their lives? It simply wasn't a human trait.

He met up with the others and they waited for over an hour for hiei to mysteriously appear as he always did. When he did not show up they figured he must have already started without them.

"Aw man! How come Hiei always starts without us! How uncool is that!" Kuwabara complained.

"He is probably just searching something out. He will find us when he is ready to Kuwabara…trust him." Kurama spoke wisely. Everyone looked at him and sighed and nodded.

"Yeah…I suppose so…" Yusuke sighed.

"Why don't we go check out the first place that the strange aura was first felt at?" Kurama supplied.

"Urameshi, didn't Koenma say something about that aura being near our school when it was first felt?" Kuabara asked his best friend. Yusuke had his hands clasped at the back of his neck and he casually glanced over at his friend.

"Yea, he did…do you think it is a student from our school?" yusuke asked kurama.

"I would not say for sure if it was, but it could be likely… that is IF the aura we are trying to find belonged to a PERSON. And we also have to try and find out if that girl is in fact an old soul later on as well."

"Yea you're right." Yusuke sighed in annoyance at the all too tell tale signs that this was turning out to be a very complicated mission. They walked to the boys' school in silence as they all tried to come up for some sort of feasible explanation as to what could cause such a horrible aura so suddenly without any sort of warning.

As soon as they reached the school Yusuke suddenly felt Hiei's aura hidden in the tree's across the street from the school. Hiei joined them in a flash and quietly waited for Yusuke to finish his " where the hell were you this morning!" rant. As soon as he finished he calmly spoke about what he had been doing this morning.

"I was following the girl from yesterday. She is a student here."

"What?" Everyone was silent for a few minutes and when they all suddenly heard a shoe scuffing the stone behind them, they were surprised to see that the ebony haired girl from yesterday was directly behind them.

"GAH!" Kuwabara fell over with a loud thud from the scare of what appeared as an evil spirit in his mind had suddenly appeared.

Yusuke tried to speak to her first. "Hey, I didn't know that you went to our school. That's cool, what's your name?" Kagome's true blue eyes slowly locked on his and the look in them told him she knew what he was…what they all were. There were clearly a normal humans eyes, except they held such a deep and agonizing pain in the depths of them it made him wonder what she had seen in order to be forced to look at the world in the way that she did.

Everyone was shocked by the look in her eyes, and it became apparent that she was too emotionally detached to respond to anything. Kurama, who had been helping Kuwabara up, finally turned around and had been putting his senses into overdrive to try and find some clue as to what was wrong with the girl, because this was clearly inhuman behavior.

When he turned around and his green eyes met with hers, her eyes widened. Much to everyone's disbelief she reached a hand out and picked up a lock of Kurama's beautiful red hair and pet it in between her fingers. She approached him until she was only two feet away from him.

"Of course he gets all the luck…Ow! What was that for!" hissed Yusuke. Hiei had jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

"Look again Yusuke. She doesn't know who he is."

"What do you mean? Of course she doesn't know who he is. They just met." Yusuke countered.

"That is not the case here Yusuke…She thinks he is someone else."

"huh?" Yusuke was confused but was answered when Kagome spoke so quietly that they all strained to hear what she said. And what she did say surprised all of them except for Hiei. And Yusuke was detting pretty damn sick of being unpleasantly surprised today. But at least he allowed the moment for his instincts to kick him in the brains and register that it was no coincidence that this girl, whatever she was, was a student at their school.

"Shippo…my fox kit…shippo…" And then for the first time in almost a year… a single tear escaped its hold in her eye.

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So there it is the next chapter! I am pretty sure that is not where I had planned to go with that as I had originally planned it, but I think that it turned out alright. I shall have to actually try and pre plan where I want the chapters to go so that they turn out better, and I PROMISE we will get sme action in there somewhere SOON ...lol Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think should happen next and I shall try and incorporate your idea's in to what I have so far!

~ Tsuki Dream


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone, ok so I have formulated a plan, please check out my profile page to see what it is. And I am SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY for neglecting you for so long! anyways I made this one like twice as long to treat you with. Enjoy!

As always I don't own anything.

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Heart collecting chapter 6

Everyone watched in worried wonder as the emotionless girl slowly reached up to intercept the salty tear that had escaped her hold on it. Staring at the liquid drop as if she didn't know what it was.

"I'm sorry miss… my name is Minamino Shuuichi, do I remind you of someone you know?" Kurama politely and quietly asked the girl. At his words her hand that had still been holding a lock of his hair, snatched back and she lowered her head so no one could see her eyes as she took a step away from them.

"Gomen… I…" But she seemed to choke on her words and the four boys all thought that she was going to try and elaborate. They were confused when she stiffly walked past them and towards the school gates as the first bell rang.

"Well damn… what was that all about… Hiei?" Yusuke looked to the psychic for some answers. He glared at the poor boy.

"I have no idea." He snapped at them, "Her thoughts are all a jumbled mess. The only thing I saw was the image of a young red haired fox demon with green eyes." He had no problem seeing into her mind, however the rush and chaotic swirl of emotions and images that were rapidly flowing through her weren't giving him much to go on. It was giving him a headache.

"The sight of Kurama has awoken some memories within her that are causing her great pain. There is chaos in her heart." Hiei spoke as an afterthought. Everyone looked alarmed at the mention of that.

" She seems kinda unstable…" Yusuke mumbled, staring after the girl with a twinge of concern.

"While it is clear from her eyes that she is not an old soul, I believe we should try and figure out what it is that is concealing her aura." Kurama spoke evenly as he led them into the school building.

"Hiei would you keep an eye on her?" Yusuke asked the fire apparition. Red eyes turned to him frowning with his unasked question.

" I am getting the feeling that something bad might happen to her if we don't keep an eye on her." Yusuke shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up to see Hiei's response, he noticed the fire apparition was already gone.

"This is all very concerning Yusuke." Kurama spoke quietly. Yusuke nodded.

It seemed to only surround the girl, but it felt like there was something extremely wrong, and his instincts were urging him to figure it out as quickly as possible.

"This feels like it is bigger than us…" Kuwabara suddenly spoke up. The two remaining detectives turned to him then looked at each other with a nod of agreement.

The dumb oaf may be a complete idiot, but he had surprisingly good feel of the more spiritual/ unnatural side of things.

* * *

Kagome had mechanically walked into the school, she had sat down in the principal's office and without a word the principal (who seemed to realize that she was in some sort of inner turmoil) gave her a pass to the nurses office and told her that another student would be by there to pick her up and show her around and would have her schedule for her. After the nurse asked her a bunch of questions and she answered robotically, the nurse decided it was just nerves, shyness, and fear of a new school, although the girl's records did say that she was sick a lot in her old school, so she got the girl to lie down while she waited for the other student to pick her up.

Kurama wasn't entirely surprised when he was given the task to care for the girl for the day, although he wasn't sure yet what to say to her, but that was fine with him. This way he could watch over her closely as well. It was also surprising, yet unsurprising that she was in fact related to the lady who owned the shrine. Now they knew a little bit about who she was at least. He stared down at the girl who was walking with her head down. She wouldn't look at him.

-That's certainly a first- Youko grumbled. He wanted to be miserable about the blow to his ego, but he was also slightly curious and concerned for the ningen as well. Kurama ignored him.

"Well here is your first class Higurashi-san. I shall be here when you get out of class to show you where your next one is." Kurama offered her a calm smile, ever aware that she had slightly peeked up at him and then quickly looked away again. Without a word she walked into the classroom. It happened to be a class Keiko was in Kurama noted nonchalantly. Not that it mattered of course.

* * *

Kagome knew she shouldn't have, but she had taken another peek at the red head. He looked so much like Shippo… but she knew it wasn't him. There was no way it could be. She closed her eyes, she couldn't think about him! It would just make her think of the others and it was just too painful!

But oh how those green orbs taunted her whenever she closed her eyes. She never noticed when the class was over, neither had she even been listening to a word that was said. She didn't want to be here. She couldn't stand the sight of the fox look alike, there was a strange pressure on her senses that she hadn't felt in a long time and it was hurting her head. She grabbed her head in pain and clenched her eyes shut.

She didn't want to be here, she needed air, and she never noticed the teacher who was giving her odd looks, nor the look of relief when Kurama rushed to her side. She only faintly heard him ask what's wrong. The pounding in her head was making it hard to hear.

She wasn't aware that she had even answered him until her led her to the roof to get the air she had practically cried that she needed.

He should have taken her to the nurse, but he knew that this physical pain was not a biological problem, but an emotional one. So the roof it was, where Hiei joined him a fraction of a second later.

* * *

Kagome's breathing was rapid and she was curled in on herself in pain on her knees. She was shaking and as the pain got worse the more she curled in towards the ground.

She was aware that there were now two presences with her. But right now, instead of being embarrassed by them seeing her like this, she was grateful for she knew they would help her. Ignoring the fact that the red head was the reason why she was in pain right now.

"H-help…"Kagome suddenly sobbed. Kurama was immediately there with a hand on her back, kneeling beside her. He looked up at Hiei.

"Hiei look into her mind, try and close off whatever pain it is that is causing this." Hiei nodded and concentrated on the girl. The images weren't as rapid this time, but what he saw there startled him. He didn't stop to question how it was possible, but he knew that there was no way for her to move forwards without facing the reality of the situation.

"There was nothing you could do, onna." Hiei spoke bluntly. Kurama looked up with a glare but after Hiei sent him a quick question that there was no other way, he continued to watch the girl and hold her. Her knuckles were turning white from gripping her hair too tightly.

"No! Stop! Help me! I can't do this! It hurts too much!" Kagome sobbed in pain. She moved to cover her ears but the boy holding her moved her hands.

"I think you need to hear this Kagome-san." Kurama murmured in her ear. Whatever progress he had hoped to make with the girl, this certainly hadn't been what he had thought of, it was downright alarming.

"You need to face it, onna. They are gone." Her sobs then violently ravaged her whole body, she couldn't stop the tears that were so hard to find a year ago.

"Hey! What's going on? Hiei what are you doing?" Yusuke had come to the roof to skip class and had immediately assumed the worst.

"She has been in shock from an event that took place a year ago. This is the first she has shown of emotion since then." Hiei explained emotionlessly.

"So in other words she needs to let it go." Kurama spoke. Yusuke shut up and watched awkwardly, there was no way in all of Reikai that he would want to be in Kurama's place right now. He hated watching girls cry, but this?

This was completely heartbreaking.

Only Hiei seemed to know exactly how true those thoughts were in regards to the girl that was seemingly falling to pieces at their feet. He continued to piece the confusing and nightmarish images together that were causing this grief ridden nostalgia within the frail girl.

Then a cold feeling of dread and evil surrounded them all. Their demonic senses went haywire and they struggled to continue holding themselves up as a strong power began pushing down on them.

Surprisingly it was Yusuke who reacted before Kurama. He yanked out his communicator and yelled at botan to open a portal.

Then the four of them vanished through a portal that led to another realm.

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So... this scene was not one I had been looking forwards to writing to be honest. There was a couple times where I felt so... mean! I'm sorry to make Kagome suffer like that but it had to be done for the sake of moving forwards! Anyways the next chapter I shall do my very best to make it a lot better... I think I need something light hearted after that.

But keep the reviews coming! You may not think so, but everytime someone suggests something for the future of the story I write it down to see if I can make something of it. I don't actually have a plot line written down ( I may have a vague Idea but nothing definite). So if there is something you'd like to see (or something close to it) let me know. It's fun to get suggestions because then I get awesome idea's!

Love you all!

~Tsuki Dream


	7. Chapter 7

You guys are in for a treat! This one is a lot longer than the others and LOTS of stuff happens! ENJOY! ;P

And I don't own anything.

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Heart Collecting 7:

Koenma was sitting at his desk, calmly sifting through his many piles of paper to approve. He was going to need to have his wits about him later. He was going to have a meeting with one of the most feared and influential demon Makai Lords regarding this current state of frenzy sweeping through the demons due to the strange phenomena that would flicker to life briefly in the Ningenkai.

Needless to say he was worried about which side the Makai Lord was going to take. His or the demons who resided in Makai? Not to mention that it was the Makai Lord who had requested an Audience with Koenma in the first place and that often wasn't a good sign.

So he was sitting there preparing himself and calming his frantic nerves, expecting the Makai Lord any moment, when all hell broke loose outside his office. Phones began ringing and alarms were going off everywhere when at the same time his doors whipped open with a loud crack! Immediately an ominous aura that was nearly tangible began to choke and weigh down on him. While he struggled to catch his breath the sight of what lay before him made his eyes widen in shock and cold fear.

His three strongest spirit detectives Youki aura's were flailing wildly and threatening to take control of them. Hiei was on his knees holding his head in pain, Kurama was holding his chest as he began to transform into Yoko Kurama, and Yusuke was curled in on himself on his knees, his lengthening and flickering from black to white as he struggled to contain Raizen from taking over.

"Koenma DO SOMETHING!" Yusuke hollered in pain. The fact that Yusuke didn't call him 'Toddler' was enough to spur him into action. He looked to the unconscious girl who the largely demonic youki was flowing from and he used some magic to throw up a barrier around the girl. The result was almost immediate. The demonic aura dissipated rapidly and Hiei visibly relaxed, Yusuke flopped onto his butt with a dramatic exhale of air, however Yoko was now in control of Shuichi's body and he also seemed to look less disturbed, but still composed of himself. He raised one silver eyebrow at the kid ruler.

Boton then rushed into the room nanoseconds later and once surveying that the aura was gone, she closed the doors to maintain some privacy. There was an unsteady silence as the golden glowing barrier surrounded Kagome on the floor. Then Yusuke stood up and ran a hand through his long black hair.

"Thanks Toddler, Is this the power you were looking for?" Yusuke snorted sarcastically. Boton leaned over to study the sleeping girl with curiosity.

"It is definitely the same power I felt as that of the residual energy I came across." She supplied helpfully.

"It is alarming at how powerful the aura truly is..." Koenma mused with a frown.

"And the effect that it has." Boton finished for him, glancing again at the boys. Koenma frowned, they had discovered the source of the powerful demonic aura, but that still left them with more questions than answers. It was getting more increasingly difficult to fully comprehend the entire situation.

_This is big_. Koenma realized with surprise.

"Yusuke, who is this girl?" Koenma spoke sternly. A tone in which Yusuke knew not to mess with. Rarely did the toddler ever take that tone, when he wasn't yelling.

"Her name is Kagome Higurashi. She is the daughter of the family that owns the shrine we investigated a few days ago. She also just transferred to Meiou High." Surprisingly it was Yoko who answered with a smirk. The smirk was unnecessary and irritated the young ruler.

"Yoko! Give control back to Shuichi!" Koenma demanded. He was irritated beyond belief right now and didn't want to deal with the arrogant fox in front of him, especially when he was getting his amusement at his expense.

"It is fortunate for me that Shuichi used up his energy. He is resting and regaining his strength." The dangerous look in Yoko's eyes made it clear what he hadn't said. He would be in control for the time being.

"Why did that aura force such a reaction from the three of you?" Koenma mused out loud, dropping his issues with Yoko for the moment. Yoko and Hiei exchanged a brief look and then nodding looked ahead again.

"The power was a strong demonic power that also had some spiritual energy mixed in with it. It was strong enough for our Youki to react to it. The girl, however, is clearly a human. From what Hiei glimpsed inside her mind, it would appear that she has been through a very strong and peculiar ordeal. He didn't get details, merely glimpses of faces and feelings. She seems to be strongly tied to a powerful jewel which she wears around her neck. The jewel seems to be the apparent source of the aura. However we are unsure how such a thing came into her possession or why it cannot be sensed at all times." Koenma looked at Yoko sharply.

"You're telling me that awful power is emanating from a jewel?" His face was grim and Yusuke remained unnaturally silent throughout the exchange, after all he knew about as much of the truth as Koenma did at this point.

"Yes." Yoko levelled his own, even stare at Koenma.

"GEORGE!" Koenma bellowed. Said ogre rushed into the room, stumbling with a panicked look on his face.

"Y-yes Koenma sir?"

"I want ALL the information that we have on the girl known as Kagome Higurashi, her spirit records, current life history, any past lives, and absolutely all and ANY interactions she's had with anything NOT HUMAN!" Koenma spoke with a fierce resolve that was unlike him and George gulped fearfully and scampered off in haste. Koenma sighed and rubbed his temples. No matter what progress they seemed to make on this case it continued to become more problematic and confusing.

"Koenma-Sama?" Boton asked the kid ruler cautiously. Koenma glanced up at her then stared intently at the unconscious girl still inside the white barrier.

"Boton find a temporary room for Miss Higurashi. She will remain in our custody until we get all the information we can from her or on her, or until the jewel's power can be safely hidden." Koenma was not to be argued in this decision, but knew that Yusuke surely would do exactly that. He was not disappointed.

"What? Toddler you can't do that! She has a family who cares for her! Who by the way know that we are demons somehow! You can't just pull her away from them without a word as to where she is and for WHO KNOWS how long! They will be worried about her!" Yusuke may have been a complete punk, but when it came down to the welfare of others he was as strong willed as they could possibly come and that stubbornness of his was only fueled by his heavily protected and hidden heart of gold. An admirable trait that at the moment was a current nuisance to Koenma.

"Enough Yusuke! That power is dangerous! And it is driving ALL the youkai in Makai wild and they are quickly turning into a frenzy that will be unstoppable if it gets out of control. They will rampage through all of ningenkai and even possibly here in reikai until they find that power! Until we figure things out we can't very well let her roam around unprotected and especially not while she is unstable! She's a danger to herself and those around her!" Koenma glared at the seething youkai in a way he never had before. Yusuke didn't get any satisfaction from the answer he got but knew that what Koenma said was true, so he couldn't argue. It made him really mad to think he couldn't stand up for the girl who couldn't speak for herself right now, but he could sure as hell make certain that she was treated fairly. Using her spiritual powers, Boton had lifted the girl off the ground and she was floating along behind Boton down the hallway. Yusuke stared after them gritting his teeth while he made a decision. He looked back at Koenma with hard eyes.

"Yusuke, please… as much as you don't think so, I AM doing the right thing here." Koenma sighed.

"Fine. But I'm staying with her. She deserves to know exactly what's going on, and not just what anybody around here decides she should know." Yusuke stormed out of the hallway and followed after the two girls, and before anyone could protest he was already long gone.

"Is it wise to let him stay with the girl?" Yoko asked.

"There's no stopping him Kurama… you know that. I should just count myself lucky that he gave in so quickly. But in the meantime we will have to wait to hear back from George to know what it is that is going on." Koenma sighed yet again. His day was officially ruined.

"Perhaps I may be of some assistance." A deep smooth voice spoke calmly from the doorway. Everyone turned in surprise to the intruder that none had seemed to notice. The daiyoukai stood in the door regally, yoko and Hiei were the first to recognize him and incline their heads in respect, to which the makai Lord respectfully returned with a nonchalant air as he walked past them to stand in front of Koenma.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! You're earlier than expected!" Koenma said in surprise.

"In fact, I have been waiting outside for some time, however given your current… situation… I am not surprised that you were not aware of this. The girl that was just taken from in here is actually the reason I wished to speak with you Koenma." Lord Sesshoumaru spoke frankly, but with a well-practiced air of respect so as not to offend more than required.

"You wished to speak of that girl? I mean no disrespect Lord Sesshoumaru, but how can we trust that you aren't after that power that is with her?" Koenma and Sesshoumaru were seemingly ignorant to the fact that the other two youkai were still in the room, hardly breathing from the tense atmosphere between the two major powers.

"Be reassured Koenma that I have no such need for that vile power that she carries with her. I have in fact met the girl in the sengoku jidai era of when we youkai walked freely among the ningen's." Everyone was stupefied by that announcement.

"Lord Sesshoumaru… how could you possibly have known this girl 500 years ago? But you say that about her power as if it isn't in fact hers?" Koenma folded his hands and rested them on the desk.

"The power is one I haven't felt for a long time, and I am disheartened to see one as pure as her fall to the level she has. The power does in fact come from a sacred jewel called the Shikon no tama. She is its only worthy protector and that power is as much a curse as it is a burden that she was never given an opportunity to choose for herself." Lord Sesshoumaru spoke the last part with distaste, as if the issue was somehow reikai's fault. But at the mention of the jewel's name Koenma's face paled considerably and only Yoko was extremely surprised by the sudden severity of the situation.

"The Jewel of four souls… it can't be… I thought we got rid of that! The jewel was supposed to remain hidden within the body of its protectors' reincarnation… how come it is still plaguing the world?" Koenma was becoming increasingly more afraid for what this situation entails.

"I do not know all of the facts, Koenma, but Kagome Higurashi is the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyou, and she was somehow able to travel through time itself through the ancient well that is on her shrine. She disrupted the balance you fought so carefully to restore because of that accursed jewel, and she did so completely by accident. There she met and fell in love with a disgusting half breed youkai, who died protecting her. Because of this as his only family member it is also my duty to protect the girl as well, for he had accepted her as pack, and no matter how uncivilized he was, she taught the filthy hanyou about honor and loyalty, so she deserves the protection I am inclined to give her."

"This is very disturbing… we should have noticed an unauthorized time traveler. Hiei, would you go see what you can find out at the well?" Hiei looked over to notice that Yoko had disappeared, which meant that the task fell to him alone. _Just great, stingy fox leaving the menial tasks to him._ Without a word Hiei vanished and satisfied Koenma turned back to Sesshoumaru.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, I would appreciate any information you have on the girl." Koenma was slightly relieved that SOMEONE knew what was going on at least.

"I will tell you what I know, which as I've said isn't much on the situation. But as far as information on the ningen goes, I will tell you only what I deem it necessary for you to know. As I've said it has been left to me to protect the girl, and Inu's take vows of protection very seriously. The girl, for all intents and purposes could be called my sister, and once this meeting is finished you will hand her over to my care." Lord Sesshoumaru spoke in a tone that left no room for argument which only flabbergasted Koenma.

"I understand your situation Lord Sesshoumaru, however it is not safe for the girl in makai or the ningenkai at the moment…please understand that for the good of all those around her, including herself, I cannot release her into your care until she can stably control the power of the jewel." He sincerely hoped that the daiyoukai lord would understand the situation.

"That is not acceptable Koenma. You have had youkai break into this grand palace before if I'm correct, so simply hiding her away in a room somewhere here is not going to solve the problem. The safest place for her is with me in my castle in makai, where she will be heavily guarded and will always be under my constant care and watch." Sesshoumaru did not like having to repeat himself, not even to Koenma and the slight growl that Koenma picked up on informed him of such.

Koenma didn't want to admit that the girl would very well be the safest under Sesshoumaru's protection, but he also knew that letting the unstable power into the realm of makai was a very serious risk to take… unless he had some of his own detectives there with her to keep him informed of her progress and to add to her protection detail as well…

"Lord Sesshoumaru, how about we compromise a way for you to fulfill your duty as well as for this case to be solved…"Koenma spoke carefully as not to offend the powerful youkai before him.

Sesshoumaru quirked a curious brow. "I'm listening…"

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Hey everyone, I have been doing my best to keep my word to you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed! I really appreciate the intake and I do take suggestions into account and into mind! I must say I wasn't expecting the role Sesshoumaru was going to have in this chapter, but I wanted it to be a bigger role than just popping in, giving info and then dissapearing for a while.

Let me know if it turned out as great as I thought it did, and keep the suggestions on coming! I really do appreciate them!

LOVE YOU ALL!

~Tsuki Dream


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